Our story… why we source and supply Dulse (Seaweed) Flakes

As with all of our Changing Habits products, Cyndi doesn’t supply any organic products unless it is used in her kitchen. Sourced from rock beds off the Atlantic Coast of Canada, Cyndi regularly uses our organic, highly nutritious Dulse Flakes in many dishes to add both flavour and vitamins and minerals, including iodine. Our organic Dulse (seaweed) Flakes to also added to our Seaweed Salt to enrich and naturally idodise the salt rather than using a man-made product.

I invite you to watch this short introduction video that explains the background and benefits of our organic Dulse Flakes.

Changing Habits Dulse Flakes is sourced from rock beds off the Atlantic Coast of Canada and has a reddish purple colour. This highly nutritious certified organic sea vegetable can be used in soups, bone broths, chowders, fish dishes, salads, when baking or steaming vegetables, miso soups and added to other seasonings such as salt and pepper grinders, to add valuable and important extra nutrition and flavour.

You know that I don’t bring anything to the Changing Habits food line unless it is in my kitchen. The Changing Habits Seaweed Salt has this beautiful Dulse added to it, but I also use Dulse on its own in many of my dishes. I haven’t been sharing this with you and thought it’s about time that I did. Historically, Dulse has been used for thousands of years to add flavour to food and has been used medicinally long before Hippocrates. Now used by Britain’s top chefs, Dulse has also been a traditional part of the Scots and Irish diet for centuries.

So what’s the point of adding more Dulse to the diet?

The main reason I add Dulse to my dishes is for iodine. Iodine deficiency as indicated by clinicians such as Dr David Brownstein and associates say that when they test their patients for iodine, at least 96% are deficient. Government statistics show this percentage to be lower, but I’m a little bias and like to see what clinicians are saying who are testing thousands of patients a year for iodine deficiency. Iodine is one of the leading causes of retardation in children and there is also evidence that links deficiency of iodine to ADD and ADHD (although I believe Iodine is only part of the story).

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Dulse is a highly nutritious organic sea vegetable that can add valuable and important extra nutrition and flavour in soups, bone broths, chowders, fish dishes, salads, miso soups and when baking or steaming vegetables. Dulse can also be added to other seasonings such as salt and pepper grinders, sprinkled on salads or used as a garnish.

Dulse also adds smoky depths of flavour to beef, lamb, venison, burgers, mash, stuffings and leafy greens. Now used by Britain’s top chefs, Dulse has been a traditional part of the Scots and Irish diet for centuries.

Keeping your Dulse stored in a dark pantry, in a glass container will help hold the nutrition of the Dulse.

Suitable for vegans. Gluten and dairy free.

100% organic Dulse Flakes.

So what’s the point of adding more Dulse to the diet?

The main reason I add Dulse to my dishes is for iodine. Iodine deficiency as indicated by clinicians such as Dr David Brownstein and associates say that when they test their patients for iodine, at least 96% are deficient. Government statistics show this percentage to be lower, but I’m a little bias and like to see what clinicians are saying who are testing thousands of patients a year for iodine deficiency. Iodine is one of the leading causes of retardation in children and there is also evidence that links deficiency of iodine to ADD and ADHD (although I believe Iodine is only part of the story).

Iodine is important for thyroid functions in infants, children and adults. It is critical for neurological function as well as brain development in the foetus and infants.

A deficiency in iodine has been linked to the following:

breast and prostate cancer

thyroid disease

fatigue and lethargy

depression

breast tenderness and fibrotic breast disease

PCOS – polycystic ovarian syndrome

dry skin and hair and hair loss as well as the loss of the distal third of the eyebrow

miscarriage and still birth in pregnant women

infertility.

It’s important to increase the amount of iodine in the diet due to the following reasons:

the avoidance of salt due to fear of salt

the increased consumption of gourmet salts that are lacking in iodine fortification

poor soil concentrations of iodine in New Zealand and Australia

the declining number of people eating seafood due to worry of mercury and other pollutants

our water supply and some medications containing fluoride which are antagonists of iodine

increase in heavy metals in environment and iodine helps in the removal of heavy metals from the body, the more heavy metals the more the need for iodine

increase in bromide in our environment, bromide is an antagonist of iodine, so more iodine is required to push bromide out of the iodine receptors. Bromide is sprayed on berries, found in carpets, fire retardants, medications, some milk supplies and many other hidden places

the pollution of the Pacific Ocean due to Fukushima

increase in zeno oestrogen’s in the environment – iodine is anti-oestrogenic

advice of Dr Jack Kruse – neurosurgeon and the need for iodine in Australia and New Zealand due increase need of electrons as a result of the ozone hole in the southern hemisphere.

The RDA (recommended daily allowance and sometimes known as really dumb advice) of iodine is to prevent goiter, but does it give us maximum health? With all that I’ve been reading, I believe that iodine RDA is severely inadequate in this day and age with pollutants, antagonists and iodine soil deficiency. We need to make a concerted effort to consume more, by adding seafood and sea vegetables like Dulse to our diet.

One serving of Dulse contains approximately 260 micrograms of iodine (this varies with seasons) which is approximately 150% of the RDA. Iodine requires a myriad of vitamins and minerals for utilisation in the body. Dulse supplies some of these nutrients, such as manganese and magnesium, then with the addition of fresh foods, nuts especially brazil nuts, high in selenium and foods high in vitamin C such as Camu Camu, the body is able to utilise the iodine more efficiently. The importance of the mineral iodine cannot be understated and in every way I try to have iodine in my diet, through my seaweed salt, dulse in many of my cooked foods and salads as well as the incorporation of fish especially shell fish into the diet. Many of our soils are lacking in iodine so most foods that could have iodine in them are missing this important nutrient, so we must head to the sea to provide our iodine needs.

Not only is Dulse high in iodine, it is also packed with minerals including iron, calcium and potassium. One serving of Changing Habits Dulse Flakes provides approximately 1.65 mg of iron and 391 mg of potassium 10.65mg of calcium and 0.14mg of zinc. These minerals are important in heart health, fluid balance, muscle integrity, oxygen requirements and much more. You can never underestimate the importance of these minerals.

Vitamins in Dulse include B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, Vitamin A, C, E and K.

When the body’s micro biomes are working at their best, they produce all vitamin B’s but many people have compromised colon bacteria and so do not get adequate vitamin B throughout the day, except what they consume and even then, their nourishment is not complete. Dulse helps compliment a healthy diet with some of these vitamins.

Just one more thing.

Dulse has been known to have up to 112 minerals and and trace elements, amino acids, vitamins, DHA and other nutrients held within this sea plant. I’ve seen the mineral content of Dulse vary extensively depending on seasons, environment, water temperature, sunlight exposure, drying process and much more. Dulse is not something that has been studied extensively like land based plants, therefore we don’t know the full extent of this sea vegetable.

The variability in the nutritional value of Dulse is high. The location, season, and mineral content of the water it resides in has a large impact on its mineral and nutrient profile. There was a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry that found the protein content in Dulse was twice as high in the winter than in the summer. Exposure to sun can have an effect on the vitamin and mineral content in Dulse. So while the nutritional profile I’ve given you may look fixed, like any food, nutritional profile is never fixed – it all depends on many variable environmental factors. Keeping your Dulse stored in a dark pantry, in a glass container will help hold the nutrition of the Dulse.

This is a food I suggest we add to our diets. It’s as simple as adding salt or a herb or spice, it can add flavour and nutrition to just about any dish.

1 review for Dulse Flakes – 125gm

Rated 5 out of 5

sandra(verified owner)–November 7, 2016

Great product, peace of mind knowing it’s organic with no additives. Very fast delivery and regular updates by postal service. Thank you!